Why I'm writing this guide...

First of all..this is my first guide...period. I decided to take the time because I've been told by a few people Vayne is overpowered..and by others..she sucks..Personally, I bought her day one with the bundle..and I don't regret it at all. She's by far my favorite and I've been told I know and understand how shes meant to be played. That being said...I don't consider myself a pro by any means..just decent. This guide will give a basic understanding and knowledge of how I play Vayne..by all means, play her as you wish..this is one mans opinion. =P Personally, best advice I think anybody could tell another person about a hero is just practice...its cliche but, practice makes perfect. =P

The Woman We Love...

Pros / Cons

Soooo lets get down to it...

Pros:
-Amazing chaser/assassin
-Great burst damage, levels of which are "overpowered".
-Her Ultimate makes her godly quick while chasing, and gives her tumble a 1.5 second invisibility, which can let you escape, or confuse your enemy.
-Silver Bolts does a percent of the enemies health as extra damage, always good.
-Condemn is ftw. =)

Cons:
-Downy Soft. (Cute little teddy bear comes to mind =D)
-Normally focused first, due to her high burst.
-If you let yourself get under-farmed or out-leveled, hard to catch back up.
-If you tumble and don't shoot the bolt,it has a longer cooldown, which can get you killed.
-Condemn doesn't always stun. =(

Things That May Help You...

So here I figured I'd list off some things that could possibly help you understand Vayne and how she works. =) (Basically tips.)

-First of all...as I mention in the team section..never initiate a fight. You're an assassin, you need to be stealthy and take out their carries. Meaning not dying. =P
-Last Hitting. Its VITAL. ALMOST necessary. If you aren't killing creeps you better be getting hero kills. If you aren't better geared than your enemy you will lose. You don't want that now do you?
-Learning when to extend and when not to is something you'll have to learn with time playing the game, most people know when to attack and when not to. ALWAYS watch the map, wards are always good as they are always looking to gank you.
-Tumble is a great skill to evade or engage a target. Remember you always tumble towards your cursor. Accidentally tumbling into their group = bad. I've done it....not pretty. XD
-The extra damage from Silver Bolts is a nice little burst. Shooting them twice, followed by a tumble is a nice little burst of damage.
-Condemn also scales with your Attack Damage nicely...using it to do that little extra damage can help you pick up the kill, just make sure if you knock em away, you can catch up to em. Can't count how many times I've done something like this and failed to kill em. It makes you sad. =P
-Always try to have both neutral creep buffs. The bonuses are simply too good to pass up.
-Practice, practice, practice. That's the best tip anybody can give..if you like a hero but suck with em..keep trying..it'll happen. =)

Laning...

Laning is essential to playing a good Vayne. Personally, I like going mid because I get the opportunity to last hit more minions.

If you lane top or bot, hopefully you get a more tanky partner so he can try and tank more while you harass with Tumble, but don't forget to last hit those minions! Its key to Vayne.
When both of you feel comfortable with trying to advance and get a kill, be sure to hide in a bush, flash out and try to angle your condemn to hit a wall, so you can get the kill. Be sure to last hit though. Last hitting those minions is required to get the items you need as quick as possible.

Summoner Spells And YOU!!

So...what kind of summoner spells you thinking...? I normally run with GhostandFlash. Very helpful for catching up to unsuspecting prey...flashing in a location for that Condemn to the wall and a kill. I've seen some go with Ignite and Ghost..but really..I just don't see a use for ignite with her. Her burst is so high its unreal, but, that is my opinion. Yours may be different. =P.

Other Summoner spells that would work? No matter what I think Flash is a must. So that aside, to replace Ghost..I'd go with either..Ignite for that LITTLE extra...Exhaust. I guess this would help getting away if you need to, or catching that little bugger that you JUST cant catch.Cleanse. Obviously this is decent, gets you out of a death if they gank you, which they will. Or try to at least. =P

Runes And YOU!!!!!!!

This section is subject to change as I do not know for CERTAIN which setup I will be using in the future, as I intend on trying out hp/level glyphs and quintessences. For now, Marks of Armor Pen. Attack speed seals and cd reduction per level glyphs.

Greater Mark of DesolationGreater Mark Of Desolationx9

Greater Seal Of Alacrityx9

Greater Glyph of Celerityx9. I'm thinking about changing up the glyphs to something..more useful..just dunno what yet..but I do love my CD reduction..XD

Greater Quintessence of DesolationGreater Quintessence of Desolation

I've been thinking about mixing up the runes in my page recently...I've been thinking about going with the Greater Glyph of VitalityGreater Glyph of Vitality for my glyphs and going with Greater Quintessence of VitalityGreater Quintessence of Vitality.

Masteries.....And...You...!

So, for masteries I tend to go with 21/0/9. I make sure to pick up Sorcery, Alacrity and Sunder. I also max out Offensive Mastery. Utility is basic, Haste, I go with Perseverance, but Good Hands is good too..if you like dying =P. I pick up Awareness over Expanded Mind and 1 point into Utility Mastery. Blue buff is goood. =)

Mmmm, Now For Skilling Order...

In my opinion, she has to be the most fun hero to play. Her manual dodge is so helpful avoiding unwanted skill shots. Not that any enemy skill shot is wanted...=P

Night Hunter. Probably one of the best passives for an assassin I think I've seen. Great for catching those carries who JUST got away.

Tumble. Your bread and butter skill. Your harassment ability and getaway tool. Always want this to be up. Has a short cooldown, unless as previously stated, you don't fire the bolt.

Silver Bolt. Does a percent of the targets hp as true damage on the third shot. Great synergy with certain items. Namely Madred's.

Condemn. What a great skill. If you're trying to pin an enemy to the wall, or save an ally. OR BOTH!!! Great skill. Takes practice on the timing and knowing how far they travel.

Final Hour. Great ultimate for an assassin type hero. Quadruples are passive run speed, making her EXTREMELY fast while chasing. Gives bonus damage, and a stealth is added to your tumble.

Now, I guess some people would disagree that Silver Bolts should come before Condemn, but in my opinion, it should be the way I have it. Considering..max hp doesn't really get anywhere high until mid/late game. Therefor your Silver Bolts wouldn't be hitting as hard early. Just my opinion.

To recap..>>>

There really is no GENERAL rotation of spells..but I guess if you had to try it'd be..
Q>E(to a wall), AutoAttack,Q, AA, AA, Q. Rinse..repeat..Ult when necessary, condemn when its back up. Pretty straight forward and very influenced by enemy actions.

Ahhhh, The Reason You're Probably Here...=P

So..this part is probably the most controversial part of Vayne...I think this pretty much makes or breaks your Vayne. Personally..I see a lot of people grab odd things for her..there are a lot of items that synergize with her abilities VERY nicely..

or and x3 Doran's Blade is nice for obvious reasons, Vayne is REALLY soft. Teddy bear soft..hp is nice, and it has some life steal which is also good. =P Boots are good if you hate being slow, her passive is very nice for chasing..not so much running away.

My first trip back I try to always have enough for . If I've killed a few people I buy my . If I started with the boots I go Sheen and for more cd reduction. Sheen synergizes with her tumble amazingly well for some extreme damage.

Last hitting creeps is a must for her. Everyone should know by now farming is key to any good hero. Farm farm farm! When you get enough you can buy . If their team has squishy heroes, finish . If you notice some stacking health try and build your ASAP. I normally start with for the attack speed, but you can go with what you like first.

After I get both Madred's and Trinity Force I normally start building defensive to make up for her uber squishyness. . Depending on their team make up, you can get if they have some magic or go for . After that it really depends, either the game is over, or you're extremely fed. If their team is behind I normally..kick em while they're down and get followed by . With all these items you should have around 2800 health, 3k with Elixir of Fortitude, while being pretty durable. You could always pick up a . I don't really get it because I don't think it really suits her for my play style. Up to you though, and the last item you could just make situational. Just as well, I normally always pick up and every time I have 500g to spare after returning anytime during the game. They're always good in my opinion.

So..for those of you inna hurry..I'll list a standard build..subject to change depending on their team composition obviously...

or x3oror or or
Here you build whichever of the other you dont have yet. XD.Guardian Angel.Frozen Mallet.Atma's Impaler.

Other Viable Options...

Starting with a Regrowth Pendant and eventually building it into a Warmog's Armor. I'd do this only if you were going to be building Atma's Impaler. Which I normally end up doing if I get to farm nicely.

Another option is Stark's Fervor. Some people love their lifesteal on her, I personally don't think she needs it. Others will disagree.

I've seen some people mention how good Phantom Dancer is with her. I'd personally ONLY get this if I needed/wanted more movement speed..which you really don't need if you have Ghost.

The Bloodthirster...gives lifesteal and damage. Both good. If you feel it's right for you. Go with it. =P Again, personally, I don't like the lifesteal.

Wow, thanks all for pointing it out..I cant believe I didnt even put Banshee's on here...Obviously Banshee's Veil would be good for any team with a cc that always focuses you, or even just for the stats alone. =) Thank you guys. =)

Black Cleaver is good for the extra armor penetration, and considering how fast you'll be attacking, after your initial tumble they should be at at least 3 stacks. Pretty gg there, plus the extra damage = harder hits with tumble and Condemn.

How To Integrate And Help Your Team Win....

-Let the tank initiate. You aren't a tank. Don't try to be. =)
-Always target their squishiest fed carry, if you have trinity force/madred's..it shouldn't be a problem at all to get them down.
-Always, ALWAYS try to get Condemn to hit a wall. I cant count how many allies I've saved doing so...and picking up a kill.
-If an ally is being chased...do NOT hesitate to hit em with a Condemn to knock em away, despite them hitting a wall or not.

Bad things to do...
-Initiate..
-Get hit by a stun XD. Stuns are bad. Unless you have Banshee's or Cleanse, two well played heroes will destroy you if you're stunned.
-Waste your ultimate. Don't use it unless you KNOW you will get a kill. Or help an ally live, or yourself live. =P Ultimate + tumble is very good. Run into brush, ult + tumble the other direction and bam..you live.

In Closing...

Again, this is just my opinion. Use this guide as a baseline to create your own item build, skill order, etc. I've won many games with well over 20 kills and fewer than 7 deaths using the same item build. Just as well, I don't claim to be a pro, or a noob. Just...decent. As I stated in the opening of this guide..this is my first guide ever. Any ideas or suggestions are welcomed, and appreciated. Feel free to point out any mistakes I've made. XD. Thank you in advance, and thank you again, for reading this. Hope it helps you slay many of those whom hide in the shadows. =) Goodluck.

Thanks to the people who've been given me feedback. I've changed the things that were questioned. =)

Change Log

5/14/2011 - After reading the comments I added Banshee's cause I apparently forgot that..=P. Also added Black Cleaver in the other viable options.

League of Legends is a team based, real time strategy game set in a mythical world of swords & magic where epic battles decide the fate of mystical nations. Game players take on the role of a Summoner who conjures and controls champions to fight for them at the Institute of War. During game play champions gain experience and items to enhance their skills and abilities. How players develop and play their champions can be the difference between a crushing defeat or a glorious victory!